A young woman had been seeing a psychiatrist. The doctor had established that she was a wife and mother of three children, and he asked, "Which of your three children do you love the most?" She answered instantly, "I love all three of my children the same."
He paused. The answer was almost too quick, too glib. He decided to probe a bit. "Come, now, you love all three of your children the same?"
"Yes, that's right," she said, "I love all of them the same."
He said, "Come off it now! It is psychologically impossible for anyone to regard any three human beings exactly the same. If you're not willing to level with me, we'll have to terminate this session."
With this, the young woman broke down, cried a bit, and said, "All right, I do not love all three of my children the same. When one of my three children is sick, I love that child more. When one of my three children is in pain or lost, I love that child more. When one of my children is confused, I love that child more. And when one of my children is bad -- I don't mean naughty, I mean really bad -- I love that child more." Then she added, "Except for those exceptions, I do love all three of my children about the same."
The Christian faith represents a God who knows and loves you just as He knows and loves all other human beings on this planet -- but with this addition: when you are sick or hurting or lost or confused or in pain or depraved -- He loves you even more. So, we personalize the message that "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love."
God loves you. Have a blessed week.
Skip
Pastor James "Skip" French is the pastor of Highland Christian Church, 1500 Forest Hills Blvd., Bella Vista. Opinions expressed are those of the author.